OPINION
John Aldridge is exactly right when he says Liverpool should try to sign Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, but a deal will surely be too difficult to complete.
Speaking to Independent.ie, the Reds legend said that the 26-year-old Ivory Coast international would be the ideal man for Jurgen Klopp to bring in this summer.
“Wilfried Zaha is the one I think he [Klopp] should go for,” the 60-year-old said.
“Zaha has given Liverpool some real problems in the last couple of years and Klopp’s ability to turn talents of his type into consistent performers has to make him the kind of player who could thrive at Anfield.”
Aldridge makes a great point here: that Zaha will benefit this team. Because he will. Last season, he scored 10 goals and assisted five others in 34 Premier League appearances.
What’s more, in the top flight, he averaged 2.1 shots per game, 1.6 key passes and 3.4 dribbles per game. These statistics show that he is a player who is aggressive when he gets forward and can cause defences a lot of problems.
But it is the number of dribbles he completes on average per game that is really exciting. It shows that he is not scared to take on defenders with his runs, which – in this Liverpool team – is a vital attribute to have.
In fact, Mohamed Salah averaged 2.1 key dribbles in the Premier League last season – 1.3 less – while Sadio Mane managed 1.4. So Zaha would offer Klopp a real difference in attack.
However, while the Ivory Coast international completed more dribbles per game than two of Liverpool’s deadly front three, there is no way he would come in and take their place. The former pair are too established and have proved themselves more than enough.
That means, then, that Zaha would likely only be guaranteed a back-up spot in the Reds side, a role similar to the one Divock Origi played last term, with the Belgian making 12 Premier League appearances, eight of which were from the bench.
And the truth is, the Palace player would not be happy with that at all. At 26, he needs to go somewhere where he is guaranteed regular first-team football to showcase his incredible talent. And he would not get that at Anfield.
So overall, while Zaha would be a brilliant signing for Liverpool – as Aldridge rightly points out – there is simply no way it would ever work out.
